Chamber of Commerce welcomes new member

The Colusa County Chamber of Commerce welcomed Principal Financial Services to its member list at a business mixer at the River Valley Lodge in Colusa. Seated from left, Paul Bailey, Barb O'Connell, Sheila Lorenzini, Katherine Linder (Principal Representative), Nancy Loudon and Valente Bailey.

Principal Financial Services representatives Katherine Linder, left, and Pete Birdwell, draw raffle tickets for prizes at a Chamber business mixer on July 11. Also pictured are Supervisor John Loudon, Donna Phelan, Colusa County Chamber of Commerce president, and Wyatt Howell.

Katherine Linder has been making the rounds in Colusa County as one of the newest members of the Chamber of Commerce.

Linder and Pete Birdwell represent Principal Financial Group, and both are helping people put together strategies for financial success.

Principal offers a wide range of financial products and services including retirement, asset management, and insurance.

“People will be seeing our faces quite a bit,” said Birdwell, at a business mixer July 11 at Colusa Casino and Resort’s River Valley Lodge lobby.

Linder, who hosted the mixer, lives in Sacramento. She has strong family ties to Colusa, and grew up with a close connection to the community.

“I love Colusa and I want to see the people and the businesses thrive,” she said. “Anything I can do to support them and bring them together, then that is what I want to do.”

Linder has worked in the financial services industry since 2013, and joined Principal Financial in 2017.

“When I became a financial advisor, I looked for ways that I could blend my passions for helping people, and in a community that I have a heart for,” she said.

Linder, who previously worked as a business banker, said she is thrilled to be with Principal.

“They really have a heart for people, and that is an incredible thing to see,” she said. “They are about what is best for our clients and meeting their needs. At the end of the day, that is what we are all here to do. We are helping people, and we see it everyday.”

Birdwell joined Principal in 2014, with previous experience in auto, home, and life insurance. He pitched minor league baseball with the Mets, and was drafted to the Baltimore Orioles, when an injury kept him out of the major leagues.

With a passion for sports, Bidwell said he often uses all kinds of sports metaphors when helping his clients plan their financial future, from planning for retirement to picking out stocks.

Birdwell said Principal has put together a great team of financial experts, who work together for great financial outcomes for their customers.

“When I talk to my clients, I’m the coach and quarterback,” he said. “All the great coaches – what do they have, They either have really great players, or they have really great assistant coaches. My philosophy as a financial advisor is not to do one thing.”

About a dozen Chamber of Commerce members and friends attended the mixer at the River Valley Lodge.

Nancy Loudon, Colusa County Ambassador Club chair, helps organize business mixers and ribbon cuttings, and said such events are a way people can get to know new business owners.

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